Both public and private sector workplaces can increase capacity to 75 per cent

Melbourne CBD’s return to its bustling former glory has been given a new push — with thousands of workers set to return in the next week.

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Melbourne’s CBD is set to see thousands of workers return next week, with the government lifting the limit on office capacity to 75 per cent.

The new rules, which apply to both the private and public sector, will take place from February 8.

Employers will need to continue keeping records of all workers and visitors who are on site for more than 15 minutes.

It comes after the state recorded 27 days without any cases of community transmission.

There was one case acquired overseas and 22 active cases statewide — all in hotel quarantine.

A total of 8,480 tests were taken on Monday.

The state government plans to extend its state of emergency powers and will table a bill in state parliament on Tuesday.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the decision to bring more people back to work would be welcomed by Melbourne’s struggling CBD businesses, including cafes, bars and restaurants.

Mr Andrews assured office workers public transport was still a reliable and safe way to get into the city.

Thousands of workers are set to return to the office next week. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ David Crosling

“If public transport wasn’t the safest option, the chief health officer wouldn’t be running it,” he said.

“If that is how you used to get to work, then please try and use that mode of transport again.”

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce CEO Paul Guerra said the announcement was “great news”.

“Across the state today, great announcements for all businesses and all workers,” he said.

“In the CBD it’s fundamental, we know the footfall through the day has been lacking, we know to get (workers) back in meaningful numbers will not only help small retail, large retail, but also hospitality.

“We know the hospitality sector has been going okay in the after hours, but to get that daytime traffic back up will create a buzz the city has been lacking.”

Mr Guerra said the announcement was not a surprise given the virus “not being here” for more than three weeks.

But he flagged there would be a long-term focus on the future of working from home.

“It’s about the best of both worlds with some staff working from home some days and some staff working in the office”,” he said.

MUTANT COVID VARIANTS EXPLAINED

Every time the virus spreads it essentially is mutating and creating a new variant — and there’s a lot out there,” Deakin University epidemiology chair Professor Catherine Bennett said.

“The variants have to be sufficiently different — and sometimes there’s a shift in the genomes, and not a shift in the characteristics,” she said. Meaning it might look genetically different but its essentially the same in the way it behaves.

Associate Professor Hassan Vally, of La Trobe University’s Department of Public Health, said there were now three main COVID variants — the UK, South African and Brazilian strains.

Struggling CBD businesses are expected to welcome the influx of office workers to the city from next week. Picture: David Crosling

AT-HOME COVID TESTS SOLD TO US

A Brisbane laboratory at the forefront of rapid COVID testing has signed a $303m deal with the US government to manufacture and deliver 8.5 million home test kits.

The contract with Ellume Health will form part of the US government’s scaled up domestic pandemic response, following the deaths of more than 440,000 Americans from COVID-19.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has previously approved Ellume’s over-the-counter, at home COVID tests, which can detect the presence of the virus in both symptomatic and asymptomatic people as young as two-years-old.

To run the test, a person uses a nasal swab and inserts their sample into the analyser. The test’s results are then transmitted to the person’s phone via Bluetooth.

SCO MO REJECTS CALLS FOR RAPID COVID TEST

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has rejected calls to introduce rapid coronavirus testing that could reduce time in quarantine from 14 days to five.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce previously labelled the testing as a “gamechanger” that could help herald a return for international travel.

But Mr Morrison said there were still safety concerns, and the government would not roll it out yet.

“We put those questions forward, until we can get a clear medical view that is safe, it would be irresponsible to do it,” Mr Morrison said.

Read more here.

WA SLOW TO ALERT COVID-19 OUTBREAK

West Australian health officials left other states in the dark about a highly infectious case of COVID-19 until several hours after a scheduled meeting to discuss the virus. 

Despite the male hotel quarantine worker returning a positive test soon after midnight WA time on Sunday, WA officials did not raise the matter in an Australian Health Principal Protection Committee (AHPPC) meeting about seven hours later. 

The AHPPC, which includes representatives from every state and territory health department, as well as infectious disease experts and Commonwealth officials, had met at 10am (AEDT) on Sunday.

The case, believed to be of the highly contagious British strain, shut the state into an emergency five-day lockdown from 6pm on Sunday.

Victoria closed the border to most WA residents, and a traffic light system means anyone from a “red zone” who tries to enter would face a $5000 fine.

Perth is currently in hard lockdown.

On Sunday night about 1700 text messages were sent to people who arrived in Victoria from a WA red zone in the past week, urging them to be tested and isolate.

A spokesman for WA Premier Mark McGowan confirmed he had not been aware of the positive case at the time the AHPPC meeting started, which was at 7am WA time. 

The committee held the special meeting to discuss the situation in New Zealand, but sources said it would have been an appropriate time to raise the possibility of a case of local transmission in WA. 

Instead the federal government and health officials were only made aware of the positive COVID-19 case just before it was announced publicly on Sunday afternoon. 

The expert group held a meeting at 7pm on Sunday to discuss the case despite Mr McGowan saying it would be advised at “the first meeting”.

Meanwhile, WA scrambled to increase its number of COVID clinics from just seven to 25 after the positive case.

The WA government was also seeking to address whether security guards working in quarantine hotels could hold a second job — an issue flagged during Victoria’s hotel quarantine debacle.

A worker tests a member of the public at a Perth drive through testing site.

Thousands answered the call to get tested.

Perth, southwest WA and the Peel area were declared red zones and anyone who visited them since January 25 is not allowed into Victoria.

It was publicly declared through government messaging on Sunday night, after it had already come into effect.

Victorian Child Protection Minister Luke Donnellan defended the short time between the red zones being declared and travellers being barred from entering the state.

“To be blunt, time is of essence in relation to COVID-19 spread,” he said.

Originally published as Both public and private sector workplaces can increase capacity to 75 per cent